Episode 106: Hard Sayings of Paul, Part 3--Meat-Idols, or Disagreeing in Love

As they continue digging into some of the "hard sayings" of Paul's writings in the New Testament, pastors and colleagues in ministry Erica, Sarah, and Steve look at a passage that is challenging because it can seem very hard to relate to in the 21st century.  Early Christians across the Roman Empire often only had access to meat that came from markets connected with pagan shrines and sacrifices to other gods, or even to Caesar, and they wrestled with whether it was permissible to eat that meat, or whether that was the same as worshipping other gods (or the emperor).  Paul not only gives his answer to the question, but frames it in a way that is bigger than just "Who is right and who is wrong?" to be about how we love one another.  Paul gives Christians an alternative to our culture's way of shouting and arguing about who is right, and then storming off if we lose the fight.  Paul instead sees the Christian community anchored entirely in love, which doesn't insist on getting its own way, and can bear with differences rather than demand its own preferences.  And in a culture like ours that is often torn and divided into parties, factions, and sides, this old hot-button issue from the first century can be a surprisingly helpful model for how we deal with disagreement as Christians today.